


Oh, Brother

by GrilledCheeseEnthusiast



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Background Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:40:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28278513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrilledCheeseEnthusiast/pseuds/GrilledCheeseEnthusiast
Summary: Jeff's father was awful, he's known that for a long time. He's accepted it, he has. But when a half brother he never knew he had shows up in need, it's Jeff's time to show that he won't continue the cycle. Sure, being a father still terrifies him, but that's not what he has to be; he needs to be a big brother.This is the first thing I've ever written so pls don't be too mean and also this is on mobile so take that into account okay thank you enjoy
Comments: 8
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

It had been a looong week for a certain ex-kinda-lawyer. He loved his friends,he did, but they were a lot sometimes. Jeff needed a night to himself, just one night. As he flopped onto his couch, glass of scotch in one hand and remote in the other, a night of relaxation and mindless tv was sounding perfect. But when had things ever gone according to Jeff's plans? 

/Knock knock knock/

Jeff groaned heavily. That had BETTER not be the Dean ready with a name-based pun and a small cup that needed to be filled with sugar. He debated not answering for a minute, but his lights were on and the TVs sound was high, so whoever it was knew he was there. Plus,,,there was always the chance it was an old flame looking to ~reconnect~. So, he set his scotch down and walked over to the door, flinging it open before he could talk himself out of it. 

"Hel-...oh?" Jeff had a moment of confusion, there was noone there?   
"Are...are you Jeff Winger?" A small, tired sounding voice said as Jeff resisted the urge to jump. He looked down, and lo and behold, there was a...kid? His confusion deepened as he stared at his unexpected guest. He was maybe thirteen or fourteen, with black curly hair and dark eyes. His clothes were dirty and old, not a single article fitting correctly. He had a small scar on his cheek, on top of slightly dark skin that made it hard to notice at first how pale he was in the face. He was stick-thin, and shaking like a leaf but doing his best to hide it. 

"Um, yeah that's me." A rare event was happening; Jeff Winger was speechless. What should he say? 'Who are you?' Didn't seem right at all, but neither did 'How can I help you?' Or any other greeting sentence he knew. 

Luckily, the kid continued on. "Well, I am your...uhh- Jeff's heart skipped a beat, he started doing math and comparing the kid's features to girlfriends from long ago- your brother. It's nice to meet you." He reached his hand out in hopeful offering. Jeff heaved a sigh of relief internally and tried to smile in a warm way, outstretching his own arm for a handshake. 

"Its so nice to meet YOU, uh..." "Oh! Yeah, uh I'm-I'm Marco." "Marco! That's a cool name." Jeff chuckled nervously. He thought he was in shock. He decided to process his emotions later, and find out why this kid- Marco- had shown up now. 

Jeff crouched down a bit to try and appear as least threatening as possible. Marco still looked so nervous.   
" So, what brings you here, Marco?" He said in his best impression of a summer camp counselor, smiling to put him at ease. 

"My mom died."

Jeff's smile dropped. 

"Oh..Oh God, I'm so sorry- I-I-"

"It's okay, really, I'm alright." Marco rushed to say to interrupt Jeff's stutters. He looked down at his hands, fidgeting, and the words just started to pour, tripping over themselves on the way out. 

"But, ya see, she was all I had, and and they were going to send me to a group home, and I didn't wanna go, and I, well I kinda stole, which I dont normally do!! I promise! But I stole the paperwork I wasn't allowed to look at, which I should be allowed to look at, right? I mean it's about my life? And I got the address for my dads house, well I guess our dads house, and I came all the way to here to meet him for the first time, and I explained everything to him sorta like I'm doing now to you, only different, but-" he paused to inhale, but in doing so realized how much he wanted to cry. His voice got shakier and started to crack on every other word as he desperately pleaded his case to his brand new brother-" he...he said that he didnt think it would be a good idea for me to live with him, and that foster care would be better, because then there's the chance that someone who's a good dad would adopt me. And he told me about how he had two sons already and the one that he raised turned out so much worse than the one he left and how the one he left was a lawyer and a good person and that if I lived with him I wouldn't turn out good like Jeff and,then he gave me your address...." he was crying in earnest now, but not acknowledging it. Just letting the tears fall. He heaved a couple breaths, and continued more slowly than before. Looking Jeff in the eyes for the first time, he finished, "and...please...I dont have anywhere else to go...I dont have anything....or anyone else." 

Jeff's heart had completely broken in two. He pulled the little guy into a hug, squeezing him tight and ruffling his hair until the sniffles died down. He was stiff at first, nearly like a board. Jeff was all to familiar with that kind of reaction to a hug, it was the one he himself usually gave when his sentimental study group pulled him in for one. It was that of someone who was not use to physical contact without malicious intent. His friends had desensitized him, but it wasn't something you ever truly forgot. 

"Of course, of course, of course, Marco." Was all he could say. 

Completely drained from the stress of recent events, Marco finally relaxed and slumped into Jeff. 

Sure, he was panicking. He had never had a brother before. He didn't know what to do. But one thing was for sure, he was not going to be like his father. Actually, two things were for sure. He needed to talk to his study group.


	2. Chapter 2

"C'mon, come on in, buddy." Jeff half carried the little guy in, guiding him to the couch, and deposited him there. He was fighting to keep his eyes open. Now that he knew he was safe, it was like the guard that he constantly kept up had been dropped, with just a bone-deep weariness to take its place.  
"Thank you, Jeff...thank you so much, you have no idea-"  
"Hey, hey, shhhhh, you don't have to thank me, that's what family's for, right? Lay down, you don't look too great. How long have you been on your own?"  
He sniffled, and his voice was barely above a whisper as he burrowed into the warmth of couch. "Too long."  
/yeah, I'd say so/ Jeff thought to himself as he grabbed a blanket for him.  
Marco looked like he hadn't had a proper meal in weeks. Jeff always monitored what he put in his body, but part of that was making he sure you've had enough as well. He knew he had some noodles in the pantry for when Abed came to visit, he'd have to make spaghetti for his new little brother, that would be good,he thought, and headed towards the kitchen.  
Little brother. Huh. That was still so weird to think about. And yet....it also felt right somehow. Jeff pondered how he would have handled this if Marco had shown up five years ago, or even two. He wouldn't be half as calm, for sure. But he'd considered Troy and Abed his brothers for a while now, and you don't hang around Shirley long without hearing about and meeting her boys. Maybe her motherly instincts had rubbed off on him through the years, or he'd absorbed it through osmosis or something. However it happened, he was so grateful to his friends for teaching him about family. Maybe Greendale was good for learning some things. Not Spanish, but things.  
A small flurry of coughs took Jeff out of his reverie. He snapped out of it, and cursed himself for being so dumb. An open cabinet and a dripping sink later, he was back by the couch with Marco.  
"Here buddy, need a drink?"  
A small grunt escaped Marco, but he didnt open his eyes. As carefully as he could, Jeff lifted his head until it was out of an angle of choking danger, and brought the glass to his lips.  
It was like an electric shock had hit Marco, his body arched toward the water, and he started gulping it down. He tried to lift his hands to hold the glass, but they couldn't quite clear the blankets Jeff had placed on top of him. In seconds, it was empty, and Marco hadn't once opened his eyes. He slumped back down, breathing heavily.  
Concerned by the display, Jeff placed the back of his hand on Marco's forehead and furrowed his brow. He was pretty warm.  
Suddenly struck with fear that he wouldn't be good at this, Jeff did what he always did when he felt out of his depth; he pulled out his phone. 

Hey, Shirley, what do u do when ur kids are sick? 

And clicked send before he could talk himself out of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the kind comments on the last chapter! Y'all are so cool. I think I'd like to keep going with this, but there are so many directions in my brain. I could make it darker? Let me know if you're for or against that. Also if anyone knows how to get italics on mobile I would greatly appreciate it so I dont have to keep using //
> 
> Oh and also yes this chapter IS a reminder to go drink water if you havent for a while I wrote that just for you go do it


	3. 3

She texted back almost immediately.

And just why the   
hell do you need to  
know that Jeffrey?

C'mon, shirls, just   
answer the question

Well, fine. I  
mostly just pray  
and the lord takes  
care of the rest<3  
But chicken soup  
dont hurt neither.  
Just keep em   
comfortable if it's   
not too bad. Clean  
blankets, lots of sprite,  
half a tylenol. 

K thank u 

Now you tell  
me why you need  
that information   
this instant. 

Not right now,  
shirls, sorry

Jeffrey Winger do  
you have a sick   
child??

.....kinda.I"ll   
explain later   
promise. G2g

Jeff let out a breath. Okay, okay, soup, clean, sprite, tylenol. I have two of those things. This'll be fine. Totally fine. He looked back at the small figure on his couch. Man, he didn't want to mess this up. He headed over to the kitchen. He didn't have soup, just Abed's emergency noodles. That would have to do.   
They were done in no time, and he put them in a small bowl with a fork to take to Marco.   
He was still passed out on the couch, but he looked anything but peaceful. His brows were furrowed and he could tell his eyes were darting back and forth behind tightly closed lids.   
Jeff reached out a hand to softly shake his shoulder. "Hey..hey buddy, wake up, I made ya some food. I'm no chef, but, ya know it's it's something."   
He shifted a bit and opened his eyes with difficulty. Once they were, though, he straightened up quickly and looked around wildly. "Wha..Huh...Eh, who?" He stammered fearfully.   
"Whoah! Whoah, hey it's okay Marco, it's alright, your safe! It's me, Jeff, your brother, remember?" He made sure to keep his hands up and open, not reaching for Marco as much as he wanted to. He didn't want to scare him with unwanted contact.   
"Oh!" Marco let out a shaky sigh. "Right, right , I-I'm so sorry." He rubbed his eyes with his hands. "Sorry I-I forgot for a second that-" "Don't worry about it. Here, I got you this." Jeff handed him the bowl and Marco's eyes went wide. "Oh, man thank you so much, I-" Jeff chuckled to lighten the mood, "Don't mention it. Hey, I'll be right back. Don't choke, alright?" He said over his shoulder as he started to walk away. He didn't get an answer, as Marco was completely absorbed with his food. 

/poor kid, who knows when the last time he ate was/ Jeff thought to himself.   
After a few minutes, Jeff came back into the living room with a few items of clothes. A shirt that had shrunk in his washer, a zip up hoodie Troy had left, a spare pair of sweatpants Britta kept there, and -Jeff suppressed a shiver- some socks that Chang had left. They had all been washed, of course, and were the closest things he had to anything that would fit Marco.

When he got back, Marco was just finishing up his food, and he was almost starting to look content.   
"Here, Marco, I uh, found these for you. They should do for now, it's all I've got until we can get you some better ,but....yeah, here ya go."   
He looked up at Jeff with something too close to awe for such small acts of kindness. He opened and close his mouth a few times, nothing coming out.   
"The uh, the bathrooms down the hall, you can change in there, and you can take a shower while you're at it. Not that you're dirty! Or smell bad! I'm not saying that! Just, uh, ya know," " No, no it's okay, I know, -he forced a quick chuckle-" I've been living on the streets for a bit, I know. Thank you, thank you so much." And with a wry smile, he shuffled down the hall where Jeff had pointed . Meanwhile, Jeff was mentally kicking himself. He could have been more subtle. He was trying to help, and Shirley was the one who mentioned being clean, anyway, so really it was her fault.   
As he heard the water kick on, the sound of an insistent knocks also started.   
Who could it possibly be know? Jeff huffed to the door and checked the peephole first this time.   
It was Shirley.   
"Jeffrey, you open that door and let me help whatever poor baby must have been dropped on your doorstep right now. Or I swear-" 

Jeff rested his forehead on the door as she continued her tirade. It would be a longer night than he thought.


	4. Chapter 4

/Well, I can't put this off forever/ Jeff thought to himself. Reluctantly, he opened the door to let in the whirlwind that was a worried Shirley Bennett.  
She bustled in and spun in a circle wildly. Not seeing a child actively bleeding out like she expected, she turned to Jeff with her signature withering mom stare.  
"Jeffery, you bring me that baby here right now and explain to me in explicit detail what exactly is going on or-"  
"Shirley, Shirley, calm down please." Jeff placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye to show he was being sincere.  
"Okay, so, long story short, you know my terrible father?"  
"I know of him but-"  
"Well, turns out that he had another child that he abandoned, who is now all alone, so I'm taking care of him now. His name is Marco and he's like, fourteen? Ish? I don't know. I was worried about him at first because he seemed a little pale and shaky, but I probably overreacted by texting you, sorry. I made him some noodles, gave him new clothes, he seemed a lot better. He's in the shower now so please stop worrying and just go home everything's fine, I promise."  
After hearing his explanation, Shirley visibly relaxed and let out some righteous tension.  
" Oh, Jeffrey, I'm so sorry. I just assumed, you know, what with your promiscuous lifestyle...."  
"Hey, I'd be lying if I said the thought didn't cross my mind. But he's just my little brother."  
"And you're okay, Jeffery? With everything? I can't even imagine what you're going through I would be so overwhelmed!"  
Jeff exhaled heavily. " I....am handling it. One thing at a time. I always wanted a little brother, really. It's all a bit surreal. "  
"Awwwwwwww" Shirly squealed.  
Jeff just rolled his eyes.  
"Alright, that's enough, Shirley, c'mon."  
"Ohhhh Jeffrey I can't help it it's so sweet!"  
"Yeah it's suuper sweet that my deadbeat Dad left my little brother out in the street after his Mom died. "  
That sobered Shirly up a bit. "Oh that poor little baby.......but what I meant, you smart aleck, is how you're taking it. You're already so protective of him! The Jeff that I first met would not be-"  
"Yeah, well, I'm not that guy any more. Thanks, in part to you I guess." He said the last part in a grumble, but Shirley heard a grinned smugly anyway.  
"Hey, turning you into a good person was a group effort." She said with a wink.  
"Oh, gee thanks, good to know it was such a momentous task." 

"Hey, uh, is there somewhere you want me to put the towel?" Marco had emerged from the bathroom, looking much better but still tired. The clothes swallowed him, and his black hair was curly from the water. His arms, now exposed in the short sleeve shirt, were pockmarked with small circular white scars. Jeff recognized them as being the same size as a cigarette butt. He saw red, but tamped it down for another time. Seeing Shirley, Marco faltered.  
"Oh sorry, am I interrupting something? I'm sorry, I didnt realize-"  
"Marco, you dont have to apologize, it's okay.This is my friend Shirley, she was just stopping by. Just set the towel anywhere in the bathroom it doesn't matter."  
"Oh okay, jus-just checkin'." He did a small head nod and raised his hand just a bit. "Nice to meet you Miss Shirley." And turned back towards the bathroom.  
Once he had left, Shirley turned back to Jeff, more somber than she had been before.  
"Well, you seem like you've got it covered. I guess I'll excuse myself now." She walked towards the door, and let her hand rest on the knob. "You know that you can call me for advice at all? And that I'd drop anything to come back and help that sweet boy?"  
"Of course, Shirley."  
She hmphed to say 'that's right' and opened the door.  
"Thank you Shirls!" He called after her, and through a closed door he could hear her voice float through the air. "I'll pray for youuuuuuu"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently that other note is showing up on every chapter, idk how to get rid of that sorry lol


	5. 5

Jeff glanced at his clock on the wall, it was nearly 10 o clock. Should he be sending Marco to bed? Oh man, did he have to, like, worry about setting a bed time now? Marco came back down the hallway.   
"Your friend seemed nice." He said.  
Jeff chuckled. "Yeah, she really is." Still suffering from the lingering speechlessness of earlier, there was a short awkward silence between the two. Then, Marco stifled a yawn.   
"You tired, buddy?" Jeff asked him.   
He dropped his head just a bit and looked at the ground. "Yeah...uh just a little bit, sorry."   
"Hey,-" Marco looked back up, and Jeff tilted his head and looked at him sincerely-" You don't have to apologize, okay? It's all good, you're welcome here and it's no problem at all, really."   
Marco's bottom lip actually trembled a bit, and Jeff felt a surge of emotions he could barely sort through. Sad that this kid had been through so much, anger at whoever had obviously hurt him, fear that he wouldn't be much better. And just for a moment, guilt. That he had considered his childhood so bad and then to have Marco, who so easily could have been Jeff himself, and then the roles would have been reversed, if their dad had just meet their moms in a different order. He pushed those thoughts aside, he knew they weren't fair and that pain was not relative. It was still hard not to think them, though.   
"Th..Thank you again, s-"  
Jeff crossed the space between them and enveloped Marco in a hug which he reciprocated just a bit more than the previous one.   
"C'mon, it's getting late, how about we hit the hay?"   
Marco pulled away and just nodded quickly, sniffling quietly. Jeff led him down the hall to his guest bedroom. He pulled the blanket up and patted the pillow.   
"There ya go, that should be good for now. We can fix it up later and make this your room."   
Marco looked all around.   
"I've never had my own room before." He said in awe.   
Jeff gave him a comforting smile, but everything he learned about his new brother just made him feel worse for him. He would never be unwanted ever again, not if Jeff had something to do about it.   
"Just get some rest, and we'll see what we can see in the morning, okay?"   
"Yeah that sounds good." Marco said through a shaky exhale.   
"Goodnight, buddy."  
"Goodnight, Jeff."   
He turned the light of as he made his exit and Marco climbed into bed. He left the door open a crack so a sliver of light could come in through the hall, and went to bed himself, mind swimming.


	6. Chapter 6

Jeff surprised himself by falling asleep. He thought for sure that he would be up all night in quiet panic, but his eyes grew heavy against his wishes and he drifted off. Until, of course, he was awoken by a strange noise from down the hall. He was confused for a moment before the last few hours of his life came back. Was that Marco? The sound came again, cross between a whimper and a protest. Oh, I bet he's having a nightmare, Jeff thought. He thought back to the circular markings he had seen on Marco's arms, which Jeff suspected and feared were cigarette burns ,as well as the slash on his cheek that stood out in contrast to his dark complexion. That could have been from anything. But the scars on his arms bothered him the most. He desperately hoped that he was wrong about their origins. Maybe he had a...genetic skin condition or something? He had tried to rationalize them, but there were only so many things they could be. And Jeff had seen plenty when he worked at the firm. It was the highlight of any lawyer's life when they got to put an abuser behind bars. It happened both more and less often than he'd like. Jeff laid there paralyzed, wondering what he should do. His brain was running a hundred miles an hour with scenarios and options.   
Then the sound came again, and he could barely use his brain anymore his heart hurt so bad. Without consciously making the decision, he was up and headed towards Marco's room. 

He peered into Marco's room, assessing the situation. The rail thin kid was on his side, back against the wall and tightly curled into himself. He was breathing heavily, and his head and arms would twitch periodically. Now that he was closer, Jeff could make out the sounds better. They were pleas. Just variations of "No", "Don't ", "Stop", over and over again. Jeff felt way out of his depth. How could he fix this? ' I don't have to fix it', he thought, 'I just have to try and make it better.' He approached slowly, and rested his hand on Marco's shoulder as he spoke to him softly. "Marco? Marco, buddy wake up it's just a dream, it's a nightmare you're okay wake up please. Please, Marco c'mon wake up." In the blink of an eye, Marco had shot straight up, Jeff reeling backward in surprise. Barely above hyperventilating Marco stared all around the room, his eyes wild. Whatever had been terrorizing his dreams had decided to linger in the real world for a moment. They tended to do that when they were born in reality too. Jeff had entered full calming-a-spooked-animal mode. His hands up, his eyes sincere, gently but matter of factly speaking. "Hey Marco, you're safe! You're safe Marco, remember?" He repeated those lines until Marco was a safe distance from panic attack territory. It took a while.   
Calming down, he caught his breath and managed a relieved sigh. Leaning back from his rigid position, some of the tension left his body as he covered his eyes with his hands. "Oh, Jeff. I-I-I am so sorry. So sorry. I didn't mean to wake you, I'll I'll do better I promise-" "Whoah, hey, you font have to apologize buddy." Jeff placed his hands on his shoulders, waiting for Marco to make eye contact. "You don't ever have to apologize, especially for nightmares. I know if you could choose you wouldn't have them." Marco sniffed a few times and tried to force a chuckle. "I really really would. " was all he got out. "Do you want to talk about it?" He tried to answer, but he ended up just opening and closing his mouth a few time before shaking his head. Tears started to stream down his face. "I...can't."  
"Hey, that's okay. That's totally fine. You don't have to if you're not ready." He just continued to shake his head no, his whole body rocking back and forth. Jeff noticed he had started to tightly hug himself. Two can do that, he thought, and moved from his crouched position to sitting on the bed and enveloped Marco completely. In return, Marco squeezed Jeff about the hardest he'd ever felt, and reciprocated completely. He was sobbing into Jeff's shoulder. Jeff just held him and let him get it all out. He would have held him for eternity if it made him feel better. He would have done anything to help the poor kid, but that was all he could do at the moment. So they just sat there. Two broken brothers holding each other. At one point, when the sobs had receded a tiny amount, Marco managed to choke out " My...uh...my mom's husband...he...he wasn't a good person...and..he didn't like me." Jeff was silent. There wasnt anything he could say. And Marco had resumed crying too hard to elaborate. He just held him until he started to give out. Jeff laid him back down gently, completely asleep. Hopefully, to rest better.

**Author's Note:**

> Alrighty there it is the first thing I've ever written not for a grade. If noone likes it it will also be my last lol, lemme know what ya think pls. Any notes/suggestions/criticisms welcome , dont have a solid plan where I'm taking this if I'm taking it. Might leave it here, up to you have a good day thank you


End file.
